Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Chief Darren Taylor and Yukon Government Minister Brad Cathers at the signing ceremony formalizing the acceptance of the Management Plan for the Forty Mile, Fort Cudahy and Fort Constantine Historic Site, June 2006.

Elder Peggy Kormendy, a member of the Steering Committee that guided the planning for the Forty Mile site, speaks at the official signing ceremony in June 2006.

Victor Henry has worked as one of the caretakers and interpreters at the Forty Mile site.

John Semple, caretaker and interpreter at the Forty Mile site.

The Forty Mile townsite suffered during half a century of neglect. Some years, floods and ice damaged the site during spring break-up. Uncontrolled campfires destroyed a few historic cabins. At least twice the townsite was threatened by nearby forest fires. Portable artifacts gradually disappeared. While we don’t have records showing what happened at Fort Cudahy and Fort Constantine during this time, we can safely assume these places had similar problems.

Over the years, many people, groups and governments worked to save the site and document its history. An important issue was who would be responsible for managing the site. In 1998, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement specified that the Forty Mile, Fort Cudahy and Fort Constantine Historic Site would be co-owned and co-managed by the First Nation and the Government of Yukon.